Author: ihsection

Recognizing our finest in International Health (IH) through the IH Section Awards

Each year, the International Health (IH) Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) recognizes outstanding contributions of its members through its Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in International Health, its Mid-Career Award in International Health, the Gordon-Wyon Award for Community-Oriented Public Health, Epidemiology and Practice, and the Distinguished Section Service Award. The Section is now seeking nominations for deserving candidates for these awards, to be presented at its Awards Ceremony at the APHA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2017.

The Carl Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award in International Health was created by the IH Section to honor the visionaries and leaders in APHA who have shaped the direction of International Health.  The evaluation criteria for the Lifetime Achievement Award include: (1) Quality/creativity/innovativeness of the individual’s contributions to the field of International Health; (2) The individual’s contributions to the development of APHA or the IH Section; (3) Application of the individual’s work to service delivery (as opposed to primarily theoretical value); (4) The individual’s contributions as a leader/visionary/role model; (5) The volunteerism/sacrifice associated with the individual’s contributions; and (6) Membership in APHA (preferably with primary affiliation with the IH Section), a State affiliate, or a national public health association that is a member of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. No self-nomination is allowed.

Prior winners of the Carl Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award in International Health include: Jeanne Foster, Joe Wray, Carl Taylor, Milton Roemer, Warren and Gretchen Berggren, John Wyon, Derrick Jelliffe, Tim Baker, Cicely Williams, Bud Prince, Veronica Elliott, Moye Freymann, Dory Storms, Tom Hall, Samir Banoob, William Reinke, Michael Latham, William Foege, Clarence Pearson, Stanley Newman, Jack Bryant, Richard Morrow, Ray Martin, Miriam Labbok, Douglas Huber, Henry B. Perry, III, and Peter Berman.

The Mid-Career Award in International Health is intended to recognize outstanding young professionals in the IH Section. The evaluation criteria for the Mid-Career Award include: (1) The individual must have committed herself/himself to the promotion and development of primary health care in a cross-cultural setting over a period of 5-15 years [Primary health care is meant here to encompass a broad array of public health issues, including HIV/AIDS prevention and environmental health]; (2) The individual must have demonstrated creativity in expanding the concepts pertinent to the practice of public health with an international focus; and (3) Membership in APHA (preferably primary affiliation with the IH Section), a State affiliate, or a national public health association that is a member of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. No self-nomination is allowed.

Prior winners of the Mid-Career Award in International Health include Laura Chanchien Parajon, Margaret Henning, Elvira Beracochea, Laura Altobelli, Matt Anderson, Padmini Murthy, Gopal Sankaran, Jean Capps, Tim Holtz, Kate Macintyre, Sarah Shannon, Adnan Hyder, Stephen Gloyd, Luis Tam, Marty Makinen, Colleen Conroy, Mary Ann Mercer, Irwin Shorr, Walter K. Patrick, Dory Storms, Clyde “Lanny” Smith and Theresa Shaver.

The Gordon-Wyon Award for Community-Oriented Public Health, Epidemiology and Practice is intended to reward outstanding achievement in community-oriented public health epidemiology and practice. This award was established in 2006 by the IH Section. It is administered by the Community Based Primary Health Care Working Group. John Gordon and John Wyon were pioneers in this field, so encouraging and recognizing others in this field is one important way of honoring their memory. The evaluation criteria for this award include: (1) The candidate must have had a central role in an outstanding achievement in community-oriented public health and practice; (2) The candidate must have demonstrated creativity in expanding the concepts pertinent to the practice of community-oriented public health with an international focus; and (3) The candidate must have membership in APHA or one of its affiliates (either a State affiliate or a national public health association that is a member of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. No self-nomination is allowed.

Previous winners of the Gordon-Wyon Award for Community-Oriented Public Health, Epidemiology and Practice are Rajnikant Arole, Carl Taylor, Henry B. Perry, Bette Gebrian, Jaime Gofin, Warren and Gretchen Berggren, Tom Davis, Jr., Malcolm Bryant, Sandy Hoar,  William Robert Brieger and Mizan Siddiqi.

In addition, the Distinguished Section Service Award is intended to honor outstanding service to the IH Section. Award criteria are: (1) Dedication to the IH Section mission and goals as demonstrated by continuing exceptional contribution to its activities; (2) Serving on the section elective positions or chairing its committees with remarkable or unusual effort and achievements; (3) Distinguished achievement in the international health field with a remarkable career; (4) Excellence in leadership and strong ability for team work with peers in the IH Section and the APHA.  Current membership in APHA is essential.

Nomination Process

Award nominations should include:
i)      A detailed letter explaining why the individual nominated should receive the award, addressing the criteria for the specific award; and
ii)     A current curriculum vitae of the nominee.

Both documents (the nomination letter and the curriculum vitae) should be forwarded as e-files (Word or pdf). Only nominations with required documentation will be considered for the awards. Nominations should be submitted by email to Gopal Sankaran (gsankaran@wcupa.edu), Chair, Awards Committee, International Heath Section.

Deadline for Nominations

Please submit the required documents by Monday, May 1, 2017.  Late submissions will not be reviewed.

The following is a message from Jirair Ratevosian, the IH Section’s Program Committee Chair.

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APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo brings together more than 13,000 attendees and features 1,000 scientific presentations highlighting the latest in research and policy.

Are you interested in helping the Program Committee review abstracts in 2017?

As a reviewer, you will be assigned 3-10 abstracts to review. All abstracts are reviewed by three reviewers, and your score is tallied with the other two reviewers to help determine which programs should be accepted. Time commitment is typically 1-3 hours.

Deadline to sign up: January 31
Membership: Must be a current APHA member
Reviewing Begins: March 7

Please sign up to register here.

As a time-limited commitment, reviewing abstracts is a great opportunity for students and early career professionals to learn more about the abstract writing process, as well as the inner workings of the Annual Meeting. It is also a superb way to be active in the IH Section and help the Program Committee present a science-strong program in 2017.

The Mentoring Committee would like to thank the following IH Section members for their assistance during the development of the Round 2 Pilot of the Global Health Mentoring Program:

Erick Amick
Abimola Williams
Chelsea Alex
Brittany Roth
Dr. Nur Onvural
Giancarlo Atassi
Maliha Ahmed

This Pilot would not have happened without your hard work and dedication. Thank you for volunteering your time to make this program a success.

Theresa Majeski
Chair, Mentoring Committee

IH Section Members, the day you’ve been eagerly waiting for has arrived. The second issue of the Section Connection is now out!

http://bit.ly/SectionConnection2

This issue covers the major IH happenings at the 2016 Annual Meeting, some great interviews with your fellow IH colleagues, and highlights ways for you to get involved in the Section.